How to stop resource guarding of humans?
Lera Wiza
2025-06-16 09:42:36
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: 21
Find treats your protective dog absolutely loves, and then chop them into pea-sized treats. Cheese, hot dogs, baked chicken or diced lunchmeat are excellent examples of high value dog treats. Have a seat on the sofa, and ask your dog to join you. Then, ask a friend to slowly walk into the room and stop at the entrance. As your friend approaches, ask her to toss a steady stream of treats toward your dog’s mouth. Pairing good things with scary situations will change your dog’s perspective, and soon he’ll learn that an approaching person makes cheese rain from the sky. If your dog barks at the approaching person, ignore him until he stops. Once your dog stops barking, say yes and reward with treats while your friend walks out of the room. Next time, practice with your friend standing a bit farther than last time, and continue having her toss treats to your dog.
Alayna Rolfson
2025-06-13 16:41:44
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: 18
A big part of stopping a dog from resource guarding is to help them learn that when humans approach when they have the object or place, that we are not going to take it.
I think the dog’s resource guarding problem was greatly influenced, if not directly caused, by the guardian pulling and taking things away from the dog.
This caused Loumi to “act aggressive” when he has an object and is worried his humans may want to take it away.
In cases like this, literally the worst thing you can do is take the item away forcefully, but thats exactly what many people do when their dog guards things.
I strongly recommeneded they stop taking things away from him forcefully and instead teach him to drop things so his guardians can trade the item for something safe and appropriate for him to chew.
A better way to stop dogs from guarding things is to first develop a strong drop cue and help the dog see the arrival of the person as a good thing and not a threat to loose something.
When you have a dog with resource guarding, its important you recognize the dog is acting more instinctively when they act out.
Since this happened many times for Loumi, his guardians will need to practice the drop it cue with low value item toys and completely stop forcfully taking things away from Loumi.
I recommended the guardians get a couple of small plastic boxes so they can have leave these treat caches nearby to use my tip to stopping resource guarding when Loumi starts to guard the chair, bone or other objects.
That way, when Loumi has something she isnt supposed to have, after having him drop it, they need to trade the item they take away with something of equal or greater value.
Celine Lind
2025-06-02 09:26:08
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: 20
Stopping a dog from resource guarding is all about helping the dog understand that we are not there to take whatever it is they are guarding. Dogs who guard things do so because they are concerned someone is going to take their resource. The great thing about this easy way to stop the dog from resource guarding is that anyone can do it. You don’t have to be a professional Beagle dog trainer to do it, just time, patience and some really tasty treats. I’d like to see the guardian practice this exercise 2 to 3 times a day, every day for a week. Each time she does so, a dozen or so treats should be sufficient. I also showed the guardian how to practice a leave it exercise and a hand targeting game which is a nice way to gauge whether or not you have a dog’s consent. Teaching Porter to leave it and to target her hand on cue are great ways to establish this, while simultaneously building up a few skills that will help the dogs in many other areas. Another impulse control exercise we didnt get a chance to introduce due to time is called Its Yer Choice. This game helps the dog learn how to be patient and passive; waiting for the guardian to give the dog a treat waiting in their open hand.
Skye Lubowitz
2025-05-24 04:50:24
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: 13
If your dog shows guarding behaviours, leave them well alone when they are enjoying food or playing with toys by themselves.
Contact our Behaviour Support Line for free expert advice or ask your vet to refer you to a qualified behaviourist for individual support.
The best way to prevent dogs from resource guarding is to teach them from the start that there is no need to worry about losing anything they find valuable.
If you need to take something from your dog, swap it for something else that your dog considers to be equally or even more valuable.
Offer your dog the better item before trying to take what they have away.
You could drop several treats on the ground near your dog, so they have to leave the item to go and eat them.
Then you can calmly pick up the item while they’re enjoying themselves.
Always swap the dog's item for something else, being consistent and always swapping items will help dogs learn to share without being worried.
Teach your dog to swap and drop, you can teach your dog to drop and swap during fun training sessions.
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